We all have motives that are hidden beneath the surface.
Knowing what makes people tick can help you understand the underlying reasons for their acting or not acting. These motivations are sometimes hidden deep below the surface and are often difficult to uncover.
The best salespeople in the B2B space know that they don’t sell to companies. They recognize the obvious fact that their customers are human beings driven by emotion. In order to strategically position their solutions with those people, a curious salesperson will dive deeper, and will not stop asking questions, even after they understand how a solution fits within a mission statement.
They learn how each of the stakeholders stands to either gain or lose if a project succeeds or fails. By understanding the motivations of the people involved, they are able to sell in a way that demonstrates real value to the company, and also to the individual.
How To Leverage Motives
When working with a client, we want to know if the person we are talking to is a risk-taker. Perhaps they are up for a big promotion and hoping to get noticed by upper-management. On the other hand, the customer might be new in their role, and more cautious about spending the political capital needed to get a new initiative off the ground. In these cases, we want to minimize their perceived risk. For example, we can help them gain buy-in from their team before they make a decision that would potentially disrupt the status quo.
Beyond simply explaining how to help a client to solve pressing business issues, we can also address their unspoken needs, such as being recognized by their peers for their leadership on an important initiative.
You can also use this technique of uncovering and meeting hidden needs to gain leverage for yourself to overcome challenges. When setting an important personal or professional goal, the best way to propel yourself into action is to have a strong and compelling reason to make a decision and be completely committed to an action plan.
Even when there is a clear goal in mind, priorities tend to shift over time. Perhaps a new challenge comes along, and reaching the original goal does not seem as compelling.
One way to recognize what is truly important is by pushing on your goal with questions such as “What makes this so important?” and “What specifically about this achievement is so meaningful?” and “If I am successfully able to reach this milestone, then what would I be able to do?”
This type of self-inquiry can help you to understand your underlying motivations and create a stronger impetus to act with greater resolve. When we are truly driven to achieve significant results on a deeply personal level, we become laser-focused on the end results and are far less prone to distraction.
Think back to a time when you won a hard-fought victory and consider what really drove you. You will no doubt recognize that your desire was about something much bigger. You can build on that success by questioning your current goals to find an inner strength that will help you reach even greater heights.
Baker Communications offers leading edge sales training solutions for sales makers and sales managers that will help you address the goals and achieve the outcomes addressed in this article. For more information about how your organization can achieve immediate and lasting behavior change that will uncover new opportunities, drive revenue, and boost your bottom line, click here.
